Swine flu Jamnagar Bhuj Kutch City District News Gujarat India

Swine flu toll mounts in Delhi, Gujarat.

At least two more death from swine H1N1 flu was recorded in Delhi, health officials reported. The total number of fatalities in the capital is now up at 69.

According to a health official from the city one of the deceases was a 23-year-old man who had been admitted to the Safdarjung hospital where he succumbed. The details of the other person are, as yet, unavailable.

Delhi has seen 62 new cases of swine flu, with 18 of these being children. There have been a total 9,260 cases in the city so far. Concerned officials claimed that the number of newer cases has dropped over some days.

Meanwhile in Gujarat, swine flu has reportedly causes at least ten deaths over the last two days taking the state’s casualty figure to 100. Of these, 92 deaths were of people from Gujarat while the remaining 8 were of people from Rajasthan who were being treated in hospitals in Gujarat.

Gujarat health authorities also announced that at least 16 new cases were reported, taking the total number of cases to 647. Out of a total of 2,613 suspected cases, 1,966 had tested negative, they confirmed. The new cases were registered from Ahmedabad City, Rajkot City, Vadodara City, Bhuj City, Jamnagar City and Bhavnagar City.

Air Force Station Jamnagar City News Samachar Gujarat India

Air Commodore Rawat takes over.

Air Commodore Devendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday took over the reins of Air Force Station, Jamnagar, one of the premier frontline fighter air base of Indian Air Force (IAF).

Rawat was commissioned in IAF on December 15, 1980, as a fighter pilot. He is an alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and National Defence College (NDC).

He was conferred with Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) on January 26, 2002.

Reliance Industries Refinery Jamnagar News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Star cricketers to play friendly match at Reliance Industries Refinery, Jamnagar City.

Star cricketers of the Indian cricket team, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag and others will play a day-and-night friendly match at the Reliance Refinery in Moti Khavdi in Jamnagar tomorrow.

The limited overs friendly day-and-night match is to be played between the Indian cricket team and Reliance team, sources from the refinery said here today.

Sources said that the match is nothing more than a family function.

Cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Virendar Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Sudip Tyagi and players of Mumbai Indians, owned by Reliance for Indian Premier League are likely to play the match, they said.

The players will arrive in batches in a chartered aircraft, sources said, adding Mukesh Ambani and his family will be arriving later in the day.

Swine H1N1 Flu Jamnagar Rajkot District News Sorath Gujarat India

The swine flu death graph is rising at an alarming rate in Rajkot District.

Five more people died on Friday and Saturday. Since June 22, when the first suspected case was reported in the city, the death toll has been steadily climbing. The toll as per sources is 20. A total 547 patients were treated in outpatient door department, created for swine flu patients at Rajkot's Pandit Dindayal Hospital, control room in charge of the hospital Dr U Mehta said.

On December 25, after a one-and-half-year-old baby died in the morning, a 50-year-old woman succumbed to H1N1 in the night.

On December 26, four-month-old baby Chintan Anilkumar, admitted on Wednesday from Kankot area, Rajesh D, 19, brought from Halwad in Surendranagar district on Friday died in the civil hospital. Rekha Turi, 40, of Jamsalaya in Jamnagar district died in a private hospital in Rajkot. Since Rekha's case was the first one reported in Jamsalaya, her house has been sealed and all preventive measures are being taken.

From December 17 to 24, 10 patients have died. At present, 36 of them are under treatment, of which 26 are positive cases and reports for 10 are awaited from Ahmedabad.

The death figures have jolted the Rajkot administration into action. Many are blaming the lax attitude of the administration for high number of deaths. The first death was reported on August 25, but special outpatient door treatment for swine flu patients was started a month later on September 10, a source said.

Meanwhile, more doctors have been appointed to tackle the situation since last week. "A chief doctor, two residents, two assistant professor-level doctors, one anesthetist and extra nurses have been put on duty per shift," said Dr Mehta.

In Rajkot, till date, 784 patients were given preventive treatment. According to sources, out of samples sent for confirmation, 88 per cent samples were positive. Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) health officer Dr Mitesh Bhanderi said, 1,050 doctors were given special training on swine flu guidelines.

Ranmal Lake Lakhota Fort Jamnagar City Tourism News Gujarat India

Jamnagar State Fort Museum attracting many tourists for Jamnagar Tourism.

A museum built in the middle of the Ranmal Lake in Lakhota Fort is attracting scores of visitors to Jamnagar.

The Lakhota Museum displays a collection of old English and Portuguese, sculptures, and artifacts that date back to the early 9th century AD.

"A lot of big cannons belonging to the British era are displayed here. Some of these date back 600 years. All these cannons reached this place from Portugal by sea," said RR Goswami, curator of the Lakhota Museum.

The museum's walls have a number of frescoes that depict the exploits of the area's rulers.

"There are some beautiful sculptures here that belong to the 18th century. Weapons are also displayed here," said Daksha Solanki, a visitor.

Some visitors feel that the youth should visit this museum as it displays distinctive facets of India's rich heritage.

"I believe that the coming generation that is studying in schools and college should visit this museum and see our rich heritage," said Devang Solanki, a visitor.

A stone bridge links the palace to the town of Jamnagar City.

Swine Flu Ahmedabad Jamnagar City News Gujarat India

Swine flu claimed nine lives in two days in Gujarat as two more people succumbed to H1N1 virus in hospitals across the state on Tuesday with the total death toll climbing to 73.

On Monday, seven people had succumbed to swine flu. On Tuesday, the H1N1 virus claimed two more lives as Kaushal Gupta, 69, died in Sterling Hospital in Ahmedabad City while Ramlal Mavadia, 76, succumbed in GG Civil Hospital in Jamnagar City. At least three more people died on Tuesday due to suspected swine flu but their test results are yet to be ascertained.

The high number of deaths has sent alarm bells ringing as health officials urged private medical practitioners to follow renewed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and administer Tamiflu to suspected swine flu patients in the initial days of symptoms to avoid complications.

In Gujarat, it has been noticed that most patients who died in public hospitals were being treated for viral infections and pneumonia and brought for swine flu treatment when severe complications had set in. “It is important that private doctors take up the challenge of simple management of flu patients. Many patients are first treated for simple fever even pneumonia delaying H1N1 treatment which can prove fatal for patients. If doctors suspect that patient may have swine flu, they should start Tamiflu, said health secretary Rajesh Kishore who said swine flu was expected to worsen in winter. While a surge in swine flu was expected in winter season, public congregations like Unjha fair, the IIM festival and the forthcoming Kankaria Carnival are feared to expose more people to the virus.

While the government had installed thermal scanners at Navratri and Ambaji festivity venues, it curiously will not be scanning lakhs of people who will throng Kankaria. “Six medical team with eight doctors will be put to monitor swine flu. The check-ups will be voluntary and not mandatory for visitors,” said AMC medical health officer Suhas Kulkarni.

Meanwhile, infectious diseases specialist Dr Atul Patel said most doctors in other districts are not even aware that Tamiflu is now available in their region on prescription. “More awareness needs to be created. Also government might think of importing vaccines which will help stem the onslaught of swine flu,” said Dr Patel.

Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation Rajkot Jamnagar News Saurashtra India

Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation to fete meritorious students.

A function to felicitate meritorious students of Saurashtra and Kutch District, under the auspices of Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation, will be held at 4 pm on December 26 in mini theater at Rajkot City's Hemu Gadhvi auditorium.

Rajkot municipal commissioner DH Brahmbhatt will be the chief guest and will present about 70 meritorious rewards and undergraduate scholarships to SSC and HSC district toppers from Jamnagar, Rajkot, Diu, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Kutch, Porbandar and Junagadh. Brahmbhatt will also address the students and gathering on zero garbage living'.

Dhirubhai Ambani Foundation annually presents SSC merit rewards and undergraduate scholarships to the first three meritorious students and one physically challenged student securing highest marks from each of the districts of Gujarat and Union Territory of Daman, Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli at the annual SSC and HSC examinations of the state boards and 10 meritorious students from the state in the merit order list prepared by the CBSE, New Delhi, for secondary and senior secondary board examinations each.

Since 1996 in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Daman, Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, 3,194 rewards and 3,322 scholarships have been conferred under the schemes. Of these, 729 are physically challenged, 378 rewarded and 351 scholars.

The SSC merit reward consists of Rs 6,000 and a certificate from the trustees of the Foundation.

The scholarships available under the scheme for HSC students range between Rs 9,750 and Rs 31,500 per annum for the entire duration of study leading to degree/diploma depending upon the professionally oriented courses pursued by the meritorious student, provided the student consistently secures at least 60 per cent marks in each annual examination conducted by the university concerned.

Jamnagar Government Hospital City District News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Music therapy provides healing aid for patients in Jamnagar City.

A Jamnagar government hospital has adopted an unconventional method of playing therapeutic music at bedsides of the patients for their speedy recovery and rehabilitation.

This music therapy is being used in the government hospital extensively, by playing Hindi devotional songs from time to time.

According to Ishaqbhai, a patient, the devotional songs that are played in the hospital do wonders to them and they feel that good and positive thoughts enter their mind. The music that is played in the hospital is very beneficial for us. We listen to the music and feel relaxed and forget our pains and sorrows,” said Ishaqbhai.

The therapeutic value of the action is overwhelming and the doctors say that after listening to the music, the patients immediately feel better and respond well to the treatment.

According to A H Vyas, superintendent of the hospital, the patients experience a boost in their energy level through the devotional songs that makes them forget their pain for sometime and helps the recovery process.

“Music is good for the patients as well as their relatives who wait for them outside the hospital wards. They don’t feel bored and can pass their time by listening to these songs. It also helps in faster recovery of the patients.” said A H Vyas.

Hospitalization can cause physical and emotional stress from continuous treatments and tests in unfamiliar environment; hence this music therapy has been introduced to provide the patients a positive way to cope up with their hospitalization.

Jamnagar Rajkot Kutch District Industries News Samachar Gujarat India

50% of Gujarat power will come from green technologies.

In an exclusive interview with DNA, Gujarat power and industries minister Saurabh Patel discussed the state's future plans for energy.

What do the ongoing Climate Change summit in Copenhagen, world energy conservation day celebrations, and Gujarat have in common?

They are all concerned about the future requirements of energy and the impact of power generation on global warming. Even as there is a debate underway on India's commitment to reduction in carbon emissions, the Modi government already has several ambitious plans for energy generation.

The future is gas-based power generation. In the next few years, Gujarat aims to switch to clean mechanisms -- such as solar, hydro, wind and tidal power -- for as much as 50 per cent of its total power generation. A tidal power project will be launched either in the Gulf of Kutch or Khambhat.

This will be achieved at a huge initial cost. But the extra cash will be well spent as it will lead to savings on recurring expenses. It will ensure that state's carbon emission does not shoot up in the next decade because of its power generation projects.

What are your thoughts on Climate Change and how high is it on Gujarat government's agenda?

Climate Change is an issue that is being debated world over and needs to be tackled seriously. Gujarat has already started doing its bit by promoting clean energy. In fact, Gujarat is the first state in the country to set up a separate Climate Change department. The state government has been encouraging the use of clean fuels to generate energy. Unfortunately, the amounts of such clean fuel (such as gas) needed in Gujarat is very high but we do not have adequate supplies.

How is the state government promoting green energy?

We are promoting power generation through renewable sources such as wind and solar power. We are also focusing on nuclear power generation. The state government is working on a biomass policy for electricity generation, the draft of which is being readied and will be soon placed in the assembly.

How are things shaping up as far as wind power generation is concerned?

As far as wind energy is concerned, Gujarat, with an installed power generation capacity of over 1,500 MW, is second only to Tamil Nadu. We are promoting this sector in a big way and aim to expand capacity by a further 500 MW this year. We are utilizing state PSUs such as GACL, GNFC, GSFC, GMDC and GSPC to generate wind power.

The cost of tapping solar power for energy is very high. How does the government plan to overcome this problem?

The Gujarat government is taking the lead in promoting solar energy generation. We realize that as solar energy is costlier than power from other sources, it will never pick up if it is not taken seriously. We have, therefore, decided to offer Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited Rs 1, 000 crore as subsidy for solar power generation for the next 10 years.

It is a huge sum, but it will ensure that solar energy is properly tapped. Moreover, once new technologies are produced, the cost of power will come down and the subsidy burden will ease. The government is even planning to promote hybrid power generation through plants that run on sunlight during daytime and gas at night.

What is the status of the work on expanding the gas grid in the state?

Gujarat was the first state to encourage use of gas as fuel and continues to do so. We already have gas grid in 15 districts and plan to cover the remaining areas soon. We also want to include the smaller towns in North Gujarat and Saurashtra. The grid will be expanded to Pipavav, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, Mundra, Mehsana, Vapi and other places.
Around 150 CNG stations will be set up across the state in the next 15 months.

These include mother stations which will be directly connected to the main pipeline, and daughter stations which will be supplied gas by tankers. We are even asking all government vehicles to switch to CNG.

What is the status of the work on expanding the gas grid in the state?

Gujarat was the first state to encourage use of gas as fuel and continues to do so. We already have gas grid in 15 districts and plan to cover the remaining areas soon. We also want to include the smaller towns in North Gujarat and Saurashtra. The grid will be expanded to Pipavav, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, Mundra, Mehsana, Vapi and other places.

Anadabava Sanstha Jamnagar City News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Anadabava Sanstha plans Kidney,Eye hospitals for poor in Jamnagar City.

A group of saints performed ground breaking ceremony of Anadabava Seva Sanstha’s proposed eye hospital, kidney hospital and school buildings in Jamnagar City.

Anadabava Seva Sastha’s state-of-the-art new modern kidney and eye hospital will come up on a large land next to existing ladies old age home. The sanstha also will modernize existing Sharda mandir School on its land.

On this occasion, Navanagar Cooperative bank’s Ramnikbhai Shah announced Rs 60000 donation for poor patients who will be served at Kidney dialysis centre.

Gujarat Fertilizer Dealers Association President Gordhanbhai Patel announced Rs 51000 donation to this cause.

Ravindra Jadeja Jamnagar Cricketer City News Samachar Gujarat India

There are many good memories connected with this ground.

Last year when the Madhavrao Scindia stadium in Rajkot City hosted an international Cricket game, Ravindra Jadeja was in the stands, cheering along with the chorus that greeted Yuvraj Singh’s 78-ball 138 against England. A Team India hopeful at that time, the left-handed Jadeja tried to emulate the southpaw at nets the following morning, but decided to switch back to his own style once he saw he couldn’t make much headway. And sticking to his strengths has seen Jadeja move from the stands to the field within a year’s time as international cricket returns to his hometown.

Though he hails from Jamnagar, Rajkot was the witness to the high points in the 21-year-old’s early cricket career. “There are several memories connected to this ground and now I have the opportunity to add one more. This will be really special as so many of my friends and family will be watching,” Jadeja told The Indian Express.

“We watched the India-England game sitting in the stands and I never thought the next time when India travel here, I would be on the other side. From watching Yuvraj and trying to be like him, here I am sharing a dressing room with him and the other big names of Indian cricket.”

Long wait

The locals are also excited and it is understandable. The last player from the region to represent the country was Karsan Ghavri, the left-arm pacer who shared the new ball with Kapil Dev in the 70s. But Ghavri did not get the chance to play an international game at home.

Fresh from a few decent Ranji outings and a surprise call for the second T20 game as a late replacement for Sreesanth makes Jadeja confident of doing well in the opening one-dayer against Sri Lanka. But as he looks back, a few unfortunate episodes from the one-day series against Australia come to his mind.

Jadeja said he needed to make amends for the run out during the Hyderabad match, where India’s late-order batsmen faltered after Sachin Tendulkar’s 175 had put the team on the brink of a historic win. “I need to be more consistent so I can cement my place in the Indian team. I need to contribute more, and I’m trying my best. I know that if I had not been run out, we would have won in Hyderabad,” Jadeja said.

Jamnagar District Talukas News Samachar Gujarat India

Female child births on decline in Jamnagar district.

The male-female ratio in Jamnagar city and district is dipping, a joint survey of two years of birth rates undertaken by Jamnagar district panchayat and a local NGO has revealed. This startling finding despite the state government's "Beti Bachao" campaign is a wake-up call for the district.

In five talukas of Jamnagar district, male-female birth ratio is declining. In Jamnagar in the year 2007-08, it was 932 girls to 1,000 boys whereas in the year 2008-09 it has gone down to 884. In Dhrol taluka, the year 2007-08 saw the ratio as 891: 1,000 which has further dipped to 855 in the year 2008-09 the survey says.

The picture is grim in Jodiya as well where, in 2007-08 the survey showed 914 female children were born against a thousand boys, but the 2008-09 survey shows a sharp fall to 822.

Kalawad, there were 845 girl child births in 2007-08 which is only 839 in the year 2008-09. Similarly, in Bhanvad where in the year 2007-08 there were 921 female child births which went down to 913 in 2008-09.

Amrut Somaiya of Okha Sarvodaya Mahila Mandal expressed concern about the situation. "We must wake up," she says, adding: "As per the situation today, the balance is tipped by 150 to 200 female births less. However, proper action needs to be taken before the situation goes out of the hand."

Ila Vakhariya of Chetna in Ahmedabad City, who recently visited Jamnagar, also expressed her concern. "We must not blame only the husband for the female feticide as the mother who is allowing abortion is equally at fault. We must also realize that it is because of these declining female population, that crimes like rape is taking place in society." Due to lesser female births, the social structure of a society, including culture and social tradition, is also in danger.

M P Shah Medical College Jamnagar City Saurashtra University News Gujarat India

A first for Saurashtra University: MBBS student bags record 13 gold medals.

An MBBS student from the Jamnagar City Medical College has picked up a record 13 gold medals, the highest till date bagged by any student of Saurashtra University.

Apoorva Vijaysinh Dodia, a student of Shri M P Shah Medical College, Jamnagar, stood first in the MBBS.

IIIrd year, Part II examination conducted this February, scoring a whopping 82.1 per cent mark. This has been the highest mark achieved by anyone in the history of the college and Saurashtra University, since its inception.

He also scored the highest marks in all the four subjects in the examination, which is a record in itself.

On December 13, he will be awarded nine gold medals (another first for the university) for the 3rd year MBBS Part -II examination during the 44th Convocation Ceremony.

He was also declared “the student of the year 2008-09” for which he was awarded gold medals at the Gujarat Medical Association conference in Bhavnagar City on November 21.

Apoorva has several other records to his credit: MBBS Ist year — 82.3 per cent; MBBS IInd year — 82.5 per cent; MBBS IIIrd year, Part I — 83.5 per cent and MBBS IIIrd year, Part II — 82.1 per cent (all highest ever scored by a student).

There are a total of 14 subjects from the Ist to the final year in MBBS and Apoorva has secured the highest marks in each and every subject till now. There are a total of 13 gold medals which can be awarded to an MBBS student from the Ist to the final year and Apoorva has bagged all of them, four previously and nine now.

His father Vijaysinh is a general surgeon and mother, Mili, a gynaecologist — both having practice in Jamnagar.

Apoorva plans to pursue post-graduation and credits his success to his teachers.

Jamnagar Amreli Surat District Tourism News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Two consultants bid for tourist beach development in Saurashtra Gujarat India.

Two firms have bid for offering consultancy services to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) for the development of tourist beaches at Sarkeshwar in Amreli District and Shivrajpur in Jamnagar District. The architecture consultancy firms, who bid for tourist beaches development, are Hiren Gandhi & Associates and Wapcos India, a flagship company of union ministry of water resources.

On behalf of Gujarat Ports Infrastructure and Development Co Ltd, GMB had invited consultants for advising the board for development of tourist beaches in Gujarat. The last date for submission of bids was 30 November and the maritime board has received total three bids for development of two tourist beaches.

"Wapcos India and Hiren Gandhi & Associates have evinced interest in offering their consultancy to GMB. Two bids have been received for Sarkeshwar beach and one bid is for Shivrajpur, which is located between Dwarka and Okha," said a senior GMB official.

The successful bidders will be involved in overall planning of tourist beach development. "The firms will help GMB chalk out long term planning for overall development. They will advise us as to what infrastructure is required for the project and how the entire project would be implemented," the GMB official added.

The tourist beach development project will probably be carried out on public private partnership (PPP) basis. In fact, GMB intends to develop tourist beach at Savli and Doomas near Surat District. Shivrajpur has clean blue water with potential to become one of the best beaches.

According to sources, around Rs. 200 crore will be spent on developing these beaches.

Jamnagar City Navy Week News Samachar Gujarat India

Half Marathon marks Navy Week in Jamnagar City.

INS Valsura at Jamnagar conducted an Open Half Marathon (21 km) and a 10.5 km run on Sunday as part of the Navy Week celebrations. More than 1,200 participants took part in the event. The race was flagged off from the ‘Raksha Shakti Sthal’ at Lakhota Lake by Mayor Kanaksinh Jadeja and ended at the INS Valsura Sports Stadium.

Prizes were awarded in various categories at a function where Commodore A S Sethi, Commanding Officer, INS Valsura addressed a massive gathering, and congratulated the winners.

Lt Commander Prabha Lall said: “December 4 is traditionally observed as ‘Navy Day’ every year in the country and on this occasion, the Navy’s and INS Valsura’s endeavour is to bring the Navy closer to the countrymen and provide an opportunity for a close interaction.”

Jamnagar City District News Samachar Saurashtra Gujarat India

Primary school students can't name days of week.

Gunotsav, a Gujarat government initiated three-day programme to implement benchmarks of quality in primary education has revealed many startling lapses in schools of Jamnagar district.

Around 3,000 officers including IAS, IFS and IPS visited schools across the state and evaluated the education standard, infrastructure along with other things from November 23 to 25.

Schools in Jamnagar districts were also evaluated and in many of the schools on coastal area students were not even able to read or write properly.

In Khambhalia taluka shala number 2, MLA Meghji Kanjariya visited the school and found it difficult to get the students of standard III to answer simple questions like the names of the seven days in a week.

Deputy collector Alokkumar Pandey, who visited three schools in Khambhalia, said that performance of students was just above average in standards V, VI and VII, but in standards IV and lower, the performance was bad. Also, in some schools where students from minority community are in majority, performance is not satisfactory.

The mid-day meal scheme was at par, but there were no playgrounds for the students as schools were situated in congested areas. In Khambhalia, 51 schools out of total 210 schools were evaluated.

District education officer (primary) of Jamnagar, RM Ambaliya, said that there are 1,300 primary schools in Jamnagar district out of which 25 per cent schools, a total 342 schools, were covered in last three days. About 114 officers were sent to various schools for evaluation. There was a mixed opinion in rural area performance of the students, especially in the coastal areas.

A tuition class teacher in Salaya, Aziza Bhaya said, "When students of standard IV and V come to me for tuition, I have to start from basic alphabets. One of the students who did not know even the alphabets is able to read a poem in a period of six months; it's not the student to blame but our teaching system."

The officers have been given a kit for conducting evaluation to judge four aspects of learning of students. Reading, writing, arithmetic and participation of students in extracurricular activities, are the parameters which were checked to evaluate the performance of a school.

Rajkot Jamnagar Swine Flu News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Suspected H1N1 patient dies in Rajkot City.

A suspected H1N1 patient died on Wednesday at Rajkot Civil Hospital, which has so far registered five deaths due to swine flu.

Also in Jamnagar City, a 19-year-old woman tested positive for swine flu after she was admitted to GG Hospital on Wednesday.

According to hospital officials, Samir Diwan (18) succumbed to high fever. His report on throat swab sample is awaited.

"Samir, a native of Than Gujarat, was down with fever at his uncle's place in Morbi City. As there was no improvement in his condition, he was shifted to civil hospital here. We collected samples of his throat swab, sputum and blood and sent them to Ahmadabad’s civil hospital for testing. However, before the test report could arrive, the patient succumbed after five hours of treatment," a hospital official said.

One more swine flu suspect Arti Mandan (2) from Shastrinagar Society in Gandhigram area was shifted to Rajkot Civil Hospital. "As Arti was running high fever since past few days, we shifted her to the isolation ward and collected her throat swab samples," the official said. The condition of another swine flu patient Dharmishta (14) deteriorated and she was put on ventilator.

Meanwhile, the positive report of swine flu suspect from Patel Colony area in Jamnagar has caused widespread panic among the staff of GG Hospital (Guru Govind Singh Hospital Jamnagar), including doctors and nurses, who volunteered their throat swab samples for testing.

"The testing could not be carried out. Instead, we have provided them with Tamiflu tablets as a preventive measure," said a hospital official.

Of the swine flu suspects, the hospital admitted a 13-year-old boy from Manavadar, who was suffering from fever and chronic cough. "The boy has been quarantined for obvious reasons. We've collected his throat swabs and sent them to Ahmedabad for testing, the report of which is awaited," the official said.

Jamnagar Rajkot RMC News Samachar Saurashtra Gujarat India

RMC launches health drive, targets 6.1 lakh students. Nearly 6.1 lakh schoolchildren will be checked as part of Rajkot Municipal Corporation’s health drive launched on Monday.

The three-month-long drive will end on January 9, 2010.

In Rajkot, a team of 75 MBBS doctors and 19 BAMS (Ayurvedic) doctors will be covering 1,612 anganwadi (kindergarten), 1,804 primary and 406 secondary schools, conducting health check-ups of 6,10,088 children, said district chief health officer Dr A S Sanghavi.

Sanghavi gave out details of the drive during a meeting with the district collector on Monday.

The meeting gave an overview of the health scenario in Rajkot district to the state administration through video conferencing. "Also joining this drive is a team of 23 referral doctors, 21 government doctors and two private doctors," said Sanghavi.

The drive assumes significance in the light of shocking data collected during last year's health check-up camp, in which 162 students of class VIII and IX were found to be suffering from heart diseases in Rajkot district. Of these, 13 students had to be shifted to a hospital in Chennai and operated upon.

The state government had spent Rs 13 lakh after the surgery and treatment. The remaining 149 students were moved to UN Mehta Hospital and provided treatment. This apart, several students were found to have vision problems and were provided with spectacles.

"In Jamnagar, a total of 1,400 anganwadis, 1,800 primary and 250 high schools will be covered under this drive meant for children in the age group of 1 to 17," said district health officer Dr DK Patel. The drive will be conducted under the supervision of district development officer JM Luni.

The drive is conducted every year since 1997. Health check-up of 4.5 lakh students in Kutch, 4.69 lakh in Surendranagar City, 3.0 lakh students in Bhavnagar City have already been conducted.

Jamnagar Junagadh Bhavnagar Rajkot City Saurashtra News Gujarat India

Gujarat frames regulations for Pvt townships in urban areas.

Gujarat government has framed regulations for integrated townships to be set up in urban areas to encourage large housing projects which can offer quality houses at competitive prices in the state, officials said on Monday.

The regulations will be announced shortly, officials in the urban development department said.

As per the regulations framed by the urban development department, private developers can build residential townships in the seven Municipal Corporation and urban development authorities’ areas like Ahmedabad City, Surat City, Rajkot City, Vadodara City, Bhavnagar City, Jamnagar City, Junagadh City.

The minimum prescribed area for setting up a township is 40 hectares where the developer will have to build necessary infrastructure like roads, drainage system, gardens and open space, water, schools, hospitals and shopping complexes within the township.

According to a senior official in the urban development department, in the integrated township projects, the developers will be allowed 70 meter height of the buildings, which means more than 20 storied buildings.

Moreover, the builders can also buy 0.5 per cent more FSI (floor space index) to raise the building up to 25 floors in the specified zones, the officials said.

The officials, elaborating on the infrastructure to be developed in the townships, said the developers will have to maintain a proper green cover with at least 200 tress per hectare and also quarters for servants and other weaker sections.

Asked how many proposals are pending before the department for setting up such large townships, a top official said, and “Three proposals by Adani group, Applewood group and Godrej group are pending before the department."

All the three projects will come up in 50 hectares area each, he said.

The developer will also have to maintain the township for first seven years and subsequently the management can be handed over to the residents' association, the official added.

Salaya Khambhalia Taluka Jamnagar District Gujarat India News Samachar

Salaya Jamnagar Gujarat India to get desalination plant. Just before the monsoon, the situation in Salaya village in Khambhalia taluka of Jamnagar district was so bad that water had to be provided through tankers. The village, best known for its country-made dhows, is now going to be among the first three places in Gujarat to get a seawater desalination reverse osmosis (RO) plant. Salaya, Dwarka and Dholera have been chosen by the Gujarat government under WASMO Swajaldhara' scheme.

Mumbai-based Nano City company is providing US machinery and installing it on build-operate basis to desalinate seawater.

Amalendu Purandare of the company negotiated the project with Salaya nagarpalika. Health and education committee chairman of the nagarpalika Salemohammed Sumbhaniya said they are providing only space. The company will provide clean drinking water free for the first year and then at 15 paise per litre. The plant will help the 40,000-strong population of Salaya.

"Earlier, women used to abuse us due to water shortage. I hope the situation will ease now," he said. The nagarpalika has the authority to sell extra water to other nagarpalikas or gram panchayats. At present, Salaya consumes almost half a truckload of water pouches which are not hygienic and pollute the environment too.

This is the best option for them as otherwise they have to depend heavily on rainwater and water provided from reservoirs.

They have also been waiting for Narmada water for a long time.

Rajkot Jamnagar City News Samachar Saurashtra Gujarat India

Valjibhai Bhalodia passes away.

Renowned educationist and top industrialist in Saurashtra Valjibhai Bhalodia passed away in Rajkot early on Thursday.

Admitted at a private hospital, 96-year-old Bhalodia was suffering from multiple complications.

Bhalodia, a leading social figure in the region, gave the city a chain of schools and colleges under the umbrella of Bhalodia and Galaxy group. His last rites will be performed on Friday morning at the family’s farm house near Targhadi on the Rajkot Jamnagar highway.

Rajkot Gandhidham Jamnagar Swine Flu News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Two more women succumb to H1N1 Flu in Gujarat State. Two more persons succumbed to the H1N1 pandemic in Saurashtra-Kutch Distict region in the past 24 hours. With these deaths, the toll has risen to 43 in the state.

On Monday, reports of samples of two persons sent to Rajkot tested positive for the flu. These include a 37-year-old man under treatment at Wockhardt Hospital in Rajkot and a 60-year-old woman at GG Civil Hospital in Jamnagar.

Resident medical officer of Rajkot Civil Hospital, G Mackwana, confirmed the death of a patient in the hospital at 3 am on Tuesday. A source in the hospital identified the deceased as Manu Gohel, 45, a resident of Slumquarters in Rajkot. "This is the fourth death in Rajkot.

Presently, there are five patients at the civil hospital under treatment for swine flu," Mackwana said. A 40-year-old woman, living in railway colony of Gandhidham, died of the diseases at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on Monday night.

Hemlata Rajvansh, 40, was first admitted on November 2 to a private hospital in Gandhidham with flu symptoms. As there was no improvement in her condition, she was shifted to Rajasthan Hospital in Ahmedabad and later to the civil hospital.

Her condition had worsened on Saturday and she had to put on ventilator, a hospital source said. Epidemic officer of Kutch district health department B L Dabhi said, "About 57 person, who had come in contact with the deceased have been identified and been put on Tamiflu medication." A source said Hemlata had recently entertained guests from a village in Rajasthan at her house. Officials suspect that she might have caught the virus from them.

This is the second death in Kutch district.

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Sir Sayajirao General Hospital Vadodara Jamnagar Surat City News Gujarat India

Sir Sayajirao General Hospital Vadodara to train small hospital nurses in new born care.

Nurses working in small hospitals or clinics, public health centers and district hospitals will be trained in the best medical practices of handling new born babies by the pediatric department of SSG hospital Vadodara City.

The department is among the three selected by state health department to offer the one-month training.

The first batch will commence in a month's time, with 10 nurses sent by authorities from state health department.

The module of All India Institute of Medical Sciences will be followed for nurses training program. It will be on-the-job learning curriculum in which nurses will practice with on-duty nurses in the department to get hands on experience.

"Condition of new-born deteriorates very fast and if nurses are trained to handle emergencies then incidence of mortality can be reduced considerably. By the time they get cases of sick new-born to city or government hospitals, the likelihood of survival decreases. So this programme will make nurses assisting pediatric doctors in smaller hospitals and clinics experts in handling such cases," said head of pediatric department Dr Bakul Javadekar.

The course will help nurses to handle neo natal intensive care unit equipment as well cases. It will also teach nurses on ways to assist doctors in all procedures, nursing care of new born as well as maintaining records of neo natal cases.

"Once trained, these nurses would be able to handle simple illness at the health center or hospital instead of bringing them to bigger hospitals in the city. This will help smaller health centers to cater to medical needs by making efficient use of existing resources," added Javadekar.

The three pediatric departments of government hospitals selected by the state government are from Surat City, Jamnagar City and Vadodara City.

"In the first phase, only three departments have been selected. But in future, other departments of various government hospitals in the state will also be included.

Our department is already running medical training programme and second batch for the same will begin soon," Javadekar said.

Kutch Jamnagar Rajkot District Earthquake News Samachar Gujarat India

Tremors measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale frightened residents of Bhuj and other towns in Kutch on 28th Oct. Wednesday evening. However, there were no reports of any damage to property or injury to human beings.

The tremors reminded the residents of their worst nightmare of 2001 when the killer earthquake had resulted in large-scale devastation and loss of life. People not just in Kutch but in nearby areas, including Rajkot City and Jamnagar City, rushed out of their homes.

According to officials, the epicenter of the tremor was at 23.7 latitude and 70:00 longitude. The impact of the tremor was experienced mainly in Bhuj and central and western Kutch.

Interestingly, towns like Bhachau Gujarat, Anjar and Rapar, which experience frequent tremors, did not feel the impact of the Wednesday's tremor. A resident of Lotus Colony in Bhuj, VM Rana, said they were watching cricket match between India and Australia when they felt earth was moving. "It lasted for merely 4 to 5 seconds but we could realise that it is a heavy tremor. Without wasting time, everyone in our residential colony rushed out to keep ourselves safe," said Rana.

Apart from Bhuj, the tremor was also felt in Dhori to Sumrasar and Ahirpatti in Kutch District Gujarat.

Nakhatrana also felt the tremor. Officials also said that the impact of the tremor was felt in Morbi, Rajkot and Jamnagar.

Jamnagar City Railway News Saurashtra Gujarat India

2,000 km meter gauge lines to be converted into broad gauge soon.

Gujarat, despite its industrial growth, happens to be the only state in the country, which has almost 2,000 kilometer meter gauge lines.

Western Railway (WR) now promises to convert them to broad gauge, with work to begin on 600 kilometre over the next three years. This was an assurance given by minister of state for railways KH Muniyappa on Monday while informing that a budget of Rs 362.62 crore has been earmarked for this purpose and project worth Rs 60.72 crore has been earmarked for new lines.

Muniyappa also invited the Gujarat government to a 50 per cent partnership in the process of doubling of railway tracks between key port towns and high passenger traffic lines. "We have succeeded in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand. This is a public service and Gujarat has an excellent track record in terms of partnerships in key infrastructure projects."

According to general manager, WR, RM Verma, two stations in Gujarat -- Ahmedabad and Porbandar -- have been included for upgradation to world standards.

For this, plans are being drawn. Also, Gandhidham and Vadodara stations have been selected for establishing multi-functional complexes.

Nearly 30 stations, which includes Anand City, Dwarka , Jamnagar City, Nadiad City, Rajkot City, Surendranagar City and Okha in the state, will be developed as model stations.

Swine Flu Jamnagar City Updates News Saurashtra Gujarat India

Jamnagar City doc tests positive for swine flu.

A gynecologist working in Guru Govind singh Hospital here has been tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

The 25-year-old is a student and resident doctor who has been working in the hospital for two years. She has been transferred to Rajkot for further treatment.

Four doctors and a nurse, who used to work in close contact with her, have been asked to take precautions, said district health officer of the city KP Patel.

An urgent meeting was held after the test results were out. A state-level expert came to Jamnagar for the case. State nodal officer Dr Kamlesh Upadhyay, director of health department and special nodal officer at the centre held meetings with CMOs of other hospitals in the city and medical associations.

Jamnagar District News Samachar Gujarat India

Gujarat promoting wind based power.

BS reported that with Gujarat government announcing slew incentives to promote wind power generation in the state, more and more companies are coming forward to put up their projects in Gujarat.

Winwind Power Energy Pvt Ltd too has firmed up its plans to set up 100 Mw wind farm at Surajbari near Jamnagar District.

Mr B Chandraseka vice president (sales) of Winwind said that "The company will be required to infuse INR 650 crore for this project which will be spread across 300 acres of land. We have made necessary arrangements for land acquisition.”

Winwind Power Energy Private Limited a 100% subsidiary of Finnish renewable energy company Winwind inaugurated its INR 375 crore wind turbine manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu last month.

Reliance Industries Jamnagar News Samachar Gujarat India

Reliance Industries to Give Bonus Share.

Reliance Industries Ltd., India's biggest company by market value, said Wednesday it will give its shareholders one bonus share for each share held.

The company will also pay a dividend of 13 rupees ($0.27) a share for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reliance said also it posted a consolidated net profit of 152.96 billion rupees for the year ended March 31, 2009, compared with 153.24 billion rupees a year earlier.

Consolidated net sales for the past fiscal year stood at 1.51 trillion rupees, compared with 1.37 trillion rupees a year earlier.

Profit and sales figures for the past fiscal year includes numbers of unit Reliance Petroleum Ltd., which was merged with Reliance Industries effective April 1, 2008, it said.

Reliance earned 1.10 trillion rupees from its refinery operations in the year ended March 31. The company runs two refineries with a nameplate capacity of 1.24 million barrels a day at Jamnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Jamnagar District Windfarm News Gujarat India

WinwinD eyes orders for 200 MW by fiscal end.

WinwinD, a wind turbine manufacturer which has recently set up manufacturing facility near Chennai, is eyeing orders for 200 MW turbines in the curent fiscal.

"We have orders at hand for 20 MW and we target to get orders for 200 MW by end of March 2010," said B Chandrasekar, vice president, sales of WinwinD.

He was here to attend a conference and conclave on energy sector organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the governments of India and Gujarat.

During interaction with the media on the sidelines of the conference, Chandrasekar announced that WinwinD is at advanced stage of talk to set up a 100 MW windfarm in Jamnagar district in Gujarat.

"A private company based in the state is establishing the windfarm which we will set up and operate on turnkey basis," He said.

However, he declined to disclose the name of the group.

Gulf of Kutch Jamnagar News Gujarat India

Gulf of Kutch favorite dolphin playground.

There is a sizeable population of dolphins along the Gujarat coast, especially in the Gulf of Kutch.

Plenty of dolphins can be seen in the area off Jamnagar City the Marine National Park (MNP).

Though the Center has just declared dolphin a national aquatic animal in order to save the species, fishermen in Gujarat have been setting dolphins free even at the cost of sacrificing their nets.

The MNP has actually drawn a plan to enable tourists to take a closer look at dolphins in the sea.

Prakash Sata, divisional forest officer at the MNP, said a jetty will be built at Bhadu near Positra from where small boats will take tourists closer to the dolphins which inhabit the area.

HS Singh, chief conservator of forest, who has presented a paper on the dolphins, says: "The numbers of dolphins in the gulf have not been studied.

But we do find common dolphins, bottle-nosed dolphins and Pacific hump-back dolphins in this area."

Jamnagar President Pratibha Patil Visit News Gujarat India

President leaves Saurashtra after brief landing in Jamnagar City.

On the last leg of her tour of Gujarat and Saurashtra, President Pratibha Patil landed at a helipad at Rajkot airport from Diu on Sunday afternoon. Her stay was just for over 10 minutes to board the special plane of Indian Air Force for New Delhi.

According to district administration officials, the president arrived at the airport in MI-17 helicopter of IAF at 1.27 pm and departed in the IAF aircraft at 1.45 pm. "The president had come to Jamnagar in the IAF aircraft. She left in the same aircraft from Jamnagar to Delhi," said an official from the collectorate.

The president arrived amid tight security in place at and around the airport.

The circuit house in the Jamnagar City closed booking on Sunday for security reasons, while two operation theaters at the civil hospital here and one intensive care unit with a team of doctors were on a standby to meet any emergency.

Reliance Industries Jamnagar City News Gujarat India

Reliance to start engineering colleges in Jamnagar City,Vadodara City,Dwarka.

Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani - led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will start world-class engineering colleges in Gujarat’s Jamnagar and Vadodara.

RIL has major presence at both the places. RIL will also start a polytechnic college of diploma engineering in Dwarka in Gujarat.

Parimal Nathwani, group President of RIL in Gujarat announced this at an inaugural function of Khodiar colony branch of Navanagar cooperative bank in Jamnagar early this week.

It should be mentioned here that RIL chief Mukesh Ambani had publicly announced his plan to establish a world class university in Gujarat during the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit at Ahmedabad in year 2007.

But till date, nothing has been materialized on ground in this direction in the state.

The Galaxy Education System-TGES Jamnagar City News Gujarat India

When kids become catalyst for change.

The Galaxy Education System (TGES) Jamnagar City, a small school where the oldest student is barely seven years old, knew that its children were too young to participate in the Design for Giving School contest - a countrywide contest for children to 'feel', 'imagine' and 'do' something about a cause of concern.

Nevertheless, Usha Mani, the school head at TGES, Jamnagar and its parent body came together to inspire the children at this tender age to think of a cause and then do something about it. The school has created a massive movement in Jamnagar - to say 'no' to plastic.

The parents' body wrote a script for a street play for the kids and took them to over 10 schools to create awareness of the cause they were taking on. Inspired by the performances of the little ones, more and more schools volunteered to partner in this campaign.

The time had now come to think of alternative solutions to replace plastic. The easiest answer was of course cloth bags. But procuring material and tailoring bags was a costly option and could not be implemented in a week. These demands made them come up with using used pillow covers.

The school's seven-year-old children, eager to contribute, opted to make handles for these bags. The school has so far collected over 5,000 pillow covers and students are diligently gluing the handles to these covers.

The sense of pride that has built in the school kids while working toward this campaign has caught the attention of the city mayor, collector and the municipal corporation. The city has taken the initiative forward by allotting hoarding spaces and passing a memorandum to ban the use of plastic bags in the city. The city has allotted Rs37, 500 to TGES, Jamnagar to take this campaign forward.

Ten more schools in Jamnagar have joined hands with TGES, Jamnagar. Older children from these schools will spread the message in the city to say 'no' to plastic by doing presentations, street plays and collecting and distributing bags. Usha Mani said, "The way this town has come together to fight for a cause to save environment, we feel empowered to start more campaigns for other causes."